Last year, when Black Lives Matter protests were raging across the US, Vogue magazine made headlines after its editor-in-chief Anna Wintour admittedOpens a new window the publication has been “hurtful and intolerant†and has not done enough to promote colored staff and designers.
Though this came as a shock to many, it seems to hold true for many companies worldwide. An Accenture reportOpens a new window found that there is a gap between what business leaders and employees feel about creating an inclusive workplace and it is costing the world economy trillions.
While announcing the launch of the inaugural Diversity in Tech DashboardOpens a new window , Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO, HR Tech Group, said that though there have been some encouraging trends in British Columbia (BC) tech companies toward more inclusivity in 2021, the real change will only be seen when the progress is tracked over the years to come. “Having the dashboard on the HR Tech Group D&I Resource HUB will provide data that holds the sector accountable to increasing the representation of under-represented groups,†she addedOpens a new window . Here’s what the result from the survey showed:
HR News Technology: How Has COVID-19 Made Racism More Rampant at Workplaces
Gender Imbalance in the Tech Industry
Women in the industry generally perform non-technical roles. While HR has 83% of female employees, their representation is 82% in administration roles. Also, software engineers and developers, the largest job family within the dataset has dwindling female representation. It is only 15%, compared to the 31.9% female representation reported across all employees. Executive jobs are also dominated by men, with 71% being male.
Unfortunately, the current pandemic situation has made it more difficult for women. A LinkedIn studyOpens a new window revealed that women are less able to recover their lost jobs lost during COVID-19 pandemic, compared to men. Another report by McKinsey & Company Opens a new window noted that women of color are more likely to have been laid off during downsizing of workforces.
The Sorry State of Minority Representation
Though the highest proportion of employees, who identified as minorities, were working within the Manufacturing (69%) and Finance (64%) job families, their representation dropped drastically to 24% at the executive levels.
Kathy Gibson, Sr. Project Manager/Consultant of the HR Tech Group D&I Tech Project said, “The significant lack of under-represented individuals at the executive level, calls attention for organizations to consider diversity, equity, and inclusion in not only their recruitment process but also their retention and succession planningâ€.
A National Fund for Workforce SolutionsOpens a new window report informs that the COVID crisis has worsened the racial inequities. While workers of color face systemic occupational segregation, i.e. they are crowded into low-wage jobs, non-White and Latinx workers’ wages are substantially lesser than those of White counterparts. Moreover, a whopping 42% of US employees  witnessedOpens a new window or experienced racism at work.
Those Who Are Almost Non-Existent
People with disabilities, indigenous people, and those who are in the LGBTQ+/2S community have the lowest representation. While only 8.2% of respondents identified as LGBTQ+/2S (working mostly in manufacturing jobs family and jobs in para-professional levels), 2.1% and 0.5% said they are disabled or indigenous, respectively.
LGBTQ+ women face more hardship. Three in 20 women believe that their sexual orientation will negatively affect their career progress, compared to six in 20 LGBTQ+ men, according to “How the LGBTQ+ community fares in the workplaceOpens a new window †article by McKinsey & Company.
In Closing
Discrimination has been an age-old evil which is prevalent in the workforce. Despite many of them talking about the importance of creating an inclusive workplace culture, the reality is far away from desirable. A Forbes articleOpens a new window noted that while lip service by leaders on this matter is rampant, only 21% identify it as a top priority. Moreover, while 68% of leaders feel they are creating an empowering work environment, only 36% of employees agree. If these trying times do not help us understand inclusivity, we may never learn.